With
The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson began what he intends
to be a 10-volume epic fantasy series called The Stormlight Archive. It's massive, it's ambitious, and it's
wonderful.

If
anything, I actually enjoyed Words of
Radiance more.

At
upwards of 1000 pages, this isn't a book that you're going to read in one
sitting unless you are superhuman. But the plot drives forward, and unlike
other massive epic fantasies I've read, every word is working hard for the
story and I never get the feeling that it could stand to lose a couple hundred
pages. It's long, and it's worth it.

Sanderson is trying to do so much, complicating everything in a
beautiful way, but sometimes to a degree that sometimes leaves me more confused
about what information I actually know. He has a tough balance to walk to give
enough answers so that readers aren't completely overwhelmed, while he adds
more questions and complications to others he's already asked. Mostly he's
walking that line well. For instance, I think he's nailing the release of
information about the Parshendi.
We're getting information about the Radiants
and spren at a good rate as well,
but I am totally confused about the Voidbringers
at this point.

Structurally,
my only problem is that there are too many interludes after Part 1. Sanderson has talked
before about what he's trying to accomplish, but dropping what is
essentially a short story collection so early on and all at once killed the
momentum. While I knew going in I wasn't going to finish the book in one
sitting, the successive shifts left me tired and relieved that I had a clear
stopping place to put the book down.

On
the other hand, I think structurally the ending of Words of Radiance felt a lot tighter than in The Way of Kings. All of the main POV characters were physically in
the same place, their arcs and climaxes were connected to the same event, and
while there's no way Sanderson could
have arranged that in The Way of Kings,
it really worked in Words of Radiance.

And
then there are the characters. Kaladin's
characterization was a bit inconsistent at points: I love how clever Sanderson is, and that adds to the
voice of many of the characters, but sometimes he slips quips into Kaladin's dialogue that don't belong
there (especially when characters across the board comment about his utter lack
of humor). It cuts Kaladin's broodiness
a bit (and how he broods!), but also
caused me to do a couple of double takes at the text.

On
the other side, I am so interested in the direction Shallan's character took this book, and it was really a breath of
fresh air from Kaladin's chapters.
The contrast of their different reactions to awfulness emphasizes their agency
and choices, and I absolutely love that.

We
also got to explore Adolin more,
which I really enjoyed. And Wit
remains amazing. His bits and epilogues are possibly my favorite part of this
series so far, though it is hard to choose.

In
short, Brandon Sanderson has undertaken
a task of enormous scope, and two volumes into The Stormlight Archive, he's executing admirably. Brandon Sanderson is putting the “epic”
in epic fantasy and I'm reveling in the story every step of the way.

Really, who wants to read - let alone wait for years to finish - a ten volume (or more, if experience serves) fantasy series? My guess is a more skilled writer could tell the same story in one long book or a trilogy at most. Padding, indeed.

actually richard, he won't take long. just five years nd I think there aren't many authors as skilled as him considering the fact that he puts out two books a year. nd he's not only working on stormlight archives but on elantris, mistborn nd war breaker at the same time.